Israel announced on Sunday a temporary halt to its military operations for 10 hours each day in designated areas of Gaza, allowing fresh aid corridors to support the enclave grappling with a severe humanitarian crisis. The measure comes as the international community escalates its criticism of Israel’s actions amid distressing images of starving Palestinians circulating globally.
From 10 am to 8 pm, military activity will cease in the areas of Al-Mawasi, central Deir al-Balah, and Gaza City, where humanitarian efforts are gaining urgency. These operations are vital as indirect ceasefire talks between Israel and Hamas, facilitated in Doha, have recently stalled without agreement.
In a significant humanitarian effort, Jordan and the United Arab Emirates executed a joint airdrop of 25 tons of aid into Gaza on Sunday—their first in months. However, a Jordanian official highlighted that aerial drops are not a substitute for land deliveries, emphasising the ongoing need for secure transport routes for essential supplies.
Despite this aid, reports from Palestinian health officials indicate that at least 10 individuals were injured by falling aid boxes during the airdrop, underscoring the precarious nature of assistance in the region. In tandem with airdrops, Israel’s military will implement secure routes for convoys delivering food and medicine, operational from 6 am to 11 pm as of Sunday.
UN aid chief Tom Fletcher stated that efforts would intensify to feed the hungry during the humanitarian pauses, expressing a commitment to reaching as many starving individuals as possible. “Our teams on the ground will do all we can to reach as many starving people as we can in this window,” Fletcher posted on X, the platform formerly known as Twitter.
The tragedies continue to mount, with health officials reporting that Israeli gunfire on Sunday resulted in the death of at least 17 individuals and wounded 50 others who were waiting for aid trucks. The dire conditions have led to a tragic increase in malnutrition-related deaths, with the Gaza Health Ministry noting that 133 people, including 87 children, have succumbed to starvation in recent weeks.
The heartbreaking loss of life includes a five-month-old baby, Zainab Abu Haleeb, who died of malnutrition this past Saturday at Nasser Hospital in Khan Younis. Her mother, Israa Abu Haleeb, expressed inconsolable grief, stating, “Three months inside the hospital and this is what I get in return, that she is dead,” as her husband held their daughter’s lifeless body wrapped in a white shroud.
In a display of solidarity, the Egyptian Red Crescent announced it would dispatch more than 100 trucks, carrying over 1,200 metric tons of food, to southern Gaza through the Kerem Shalom crossing on Sunday, further emphasizing the urgent need for humanitarian support in the beleaguered region.